Contents

While the characters are rendered in polygonal 3D, the game's backgrounds are hand-drawn with the various location elements "popping out" of the screen thanks to parallax scrolling and the 3DS auto-stereoscopic technology. A traditional 3D world map also makes an appearance. The playable characters can interact with each other using a Party Chat system, where battles are interrupted so that the player can watch a cutscene. These Party Chat scenes expand the story and suggest game strategies.

Bravely Default is a turn-based RPG with random encounters and a battle system focused on the job system. The game uses a system of stocked points called "BP" which characters use to gain extra turns. Every character has a personal set of BP. The "Default" command skips a turn to stock a BP, and the "Brave" command uses that BP to move up to four times.

Tiz, Agnès and Edea in battle.

Players can drop into up to -4 negative BP, which will result in a combo of turns; subsequently enemies receive multiple turns in a row until BP returns to 0. BP can be transferred between party members using certain job-specific abilities. The "Friend Summon" system has players summon the characters of other players using either data transfer between the player's friends, or 3DS Streetpass system between strangers. When a Friend Summon is used repeatedly, it will grow in "Affection" and become stronger.

The job system is similar to that of Final Fantasy V in that characters learn abilities from using jobs. Job commands are class's special skills, such as Magic and Attack. Support abilities are automatic skills, like HP +10% or Cover. Aside from the command associated with the currently-equipped job, a secondary command from a different job can also be set, creating a complex customization system. Support abilities can a be customized, but each has a set "cost" as to how many support abilities can be placed on one character.

Growth in job mastery is represented by job levels. As characters use a class more frequently in battle, their job level increases through accumulation of Job Points (JP). Bravely Default features a special system called "Abilink", which allows players to borrow the job levels of their friends' characters.

Limit Break-style attacks, called "Special Moves", are powerful finishing moves based on weapons not unlike Weapon Skills from Final Fantasy XI that can only be used under special conditions. Each of the nine weapon-types has 1-3 levels of attacks for a total of 27 Special Moves. The attack names, dialogue when used, and after-effects (such as status effects, elemental properties, better damage versus certain enemy types) of these moves can be customized.

After a Special Move is activated, the background music will change to a unique theme based on the character, and the move effects can stack if used sequentially before the music ends. All weapon types have set proficiency that affects the learning rate and damage of each weapon and Special Move. They are ranked S-E and vary from class to class: for example Freelancers have a B rating in all weapons. The effects are time-based and will last for approximately a minute and a half until the Special Move theme is finished, regardless of whether the player is attacking, selecting the commands, or doing nothing.

The game employs a job system that is slightly different from the system in Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light. A special item, called asterisk, is needed to change jobs. Along with the starting job, Freelancer, a total of 23 jobs can be obtained and each job has its own level capped at 14. Only 8 jobs are acquired via the main questline, the rest being the rewards of the sub-scenario quests.

Only one minigame appears and is centered on rebuilding Tiz's home, Norende Village, by recruiting people using Streetpass or the internet. It normally takes hundreds of hours to complete, but that can be mitigated using Streetpass to increase the population. Special shops can be built here, such as a "Special Move Parts" shop to unlock additional properties which can be customized to Special Moves. Normal shops built here over time stock powerful unique equipment that can't be found elsewhere.

Luxendarc is the land of light and shadow where many countries exist: the scenic kingdom of Caldisla where Tiz ended up after the destruction of his hometown; Norende, the desert country of Ancheim, home to the Temple of Wind and known for its large wind-powered clock; the flower-filled haven of Florem; the oceanic nation of Grandship; the war-ridden land of Eisenberg; and the tundra Duchy of Eternia.

Agnès Oblige, a 20-year-old woman (17 in the Japanese version) who is the vestal of wind, sets off on a journey to cleanse the Crystals that have been corrupted by a darkness.

Tiz Arrior, a 19-year-old man (16 in the Japanese version) who miraculously survives the calamity that left a hole in a region of Caldisla. He's deeply depressed of having been unable to save his young brother and sole relative.

Edea Lee, an 18-year-old woman (15 in the Japanese version) with a strong sense of justice who originates from Eternia, and was raised in a strong household with her father as her duchy's leader. Though sent to capture Agnès on a mission for the Eternian Army, she instead aids the vestal after seeing the horrible actions of her father's army.

Ringabel, an amnesiac man of unknown age traveling around the world seducing women with his adolescent charm. He is in possession of a special book called "D's Journal" that seems to predict the future.

As a vestal of the Wind Crystal finds the crystal consumed in a dark energy, a youth named Tiz Arrior finds his home of Norende being swallowed up by the earth with his younger brother falling to his death. Tiz is consumed by a light erupting from the abyss.

A week after Norende's destruction, Tiz awakens to find himself in Caldisla. He was brought there by the Captain of the Guard, Sir Owen. Though he is welcome to stay, Tiz wishes to search the remains of his home for other survivors.

At the Norende Ravine Tiz meets the Wind Crystal's vestal, Agnès Oblige, who informs him that he is the only survivor. Tiz learns that Agnès, accompanied by the cryst-fairyAiry, is on a journey to free the Wind Crystal from the darkness gripping it and undo the damage it has caused. She is being pursued by the Sky Knights of Eternia, who have been terrorizing Caldisla.

Agnès refuses help from Tiz as she believes that facing adversity on her own is part of her responsibility as vestal. When she surrenders herself to the Monk Barras Lehr and White Mage Holly Whyte to spare the kingdom, she is saved by Tiz, and finally accepts his help. Later that night, the two learn that the city was attacked by Ominas Crowe before he was ordered to stop by Edea Lee, the grand marshal's daughter, and the Sky Knight's second-in-command.

The next morning the duo meets a mysterious young man with amnesia called Ringabel, who insists on joining them on behalf of the predictions his journal makes. Initially skeptical, Tiz and Agnès agree to take him along to the Ruins of Centro Keep to pursue Ominas and Edea. Upon arrival, they learn that Edea opposes the black mage's actions, and so join forces with her to defeat him. Having committed treason towards the duchy, Edea sees a better option in teaming up with the group than treading alone as a deserter. Despite initial distrust between her and Agnès, the party finds itself needing to work together after the Sky Knights, led by Argent Heinkel, attack Caldisla. The king is abducted and taken to Lontano Villa and Owen is killed trying to defend him.

Having to rescue the king and trust Ringabel's journal on the track of an airship, the group relies on Edea's plan to infiltrate the villa. The guards recognize her as traitor, and the party leads a head-on charge into the stronghold. They reach Heinkel before he can escape on the Eschalot airship and defeat him, avenging Owen's death. Taking the Sky Knights' airship, the group returns the king to Caldisla and heads towards Ancheim to reach the Wind Crystal.

Arriving in Ancheim, Agnès and her group witness a rally by the city's ruler Eloch Quentis Khamer VIII, who demands more hard labor from the citizens to turn the enormous windmill that powers the city, since the wind no longer blows across the land. After the group meets with Khamer, they make their way to the Wind Temple where they discover monsters roaming the temple since the Wind Crystal was consumed by darkness. Upon arriving at the altar of the Wind Crystal, Agnès finds the vestal garb needed to cleanse the crystal in ruins. Turning to Sage Yulyana in the Yulyana Region for help, Agnès is directed to the Vestment Cave where the party defeats a dragon guarding the rainbow thread, which is necessary for remaking the vestal garb.

After spending another night in the Yulyana Woods Needleworks, Tiz watches Agnès talk to the Sage about the vestal of water, Olivia. As she rekindles her wavering resolve, Agnès obtains the completed dress. Upon returning to the temple, they find the crystal possessed by the Bringer of Doom, Orthros.

After dispatching Orthros, Airy states the rules of the Rite of Awakening and warns the others not to interfere. Agnès proceeds with the ritual while suffering physical strain. As Ringabel seems to remember something related to the crystal's light, Airy reveals they have three more temples to visit. Though the group expects things to have improved in Ancheim, they find Khamer still spewing propaganda to turn the people against Agnès and the Crystal Orthodoxy. With Tiz's encouragement, Agnès describes the perils faced by the world if the four crystals remain tainted, and the necessity of her journey. As she displays Orthros's Tempest Braid as proof of her actions, the wind finally picks up.

Agnès tells Ancheim's citizens that she must meet up with the other vestals to cleanse the remaining crystals. Touched by the praise and renewed faith of the people, Agnès promises to return as she tells Prime Minister Dominus that her group will see the Sage to find a means to reach Florem and cleanse the Water Crystal.

After the group returns to the airship, Tiz is attacked by Alternis Dim of the Counsel of Six. Coming to Agnès's aid, Edea stands up to Alternis, and the Dark Knight falls back while destroying the skystone which keeps the airship afloat. The group must travel through the miasma-ridden forests on foot to reach Florem.

Agnès's group makes it out of the Miasma Woods and at Florem Tiz is taken aback by the city of women. Agnès notices the city's sudden change from a modest place dedicated to nature into a haven for the shallow-minded and vain. The group looks for the Matriarch to find out what is going on, who explains that someone instilled the current mindset into the residents while revealing that Olivia Oblige, the vestal of water, is in hiding. After visiting the Temple of Water for clues and finding it abandoned, the group finds the crystal protected by a barrier created by Olivia before she disappeared.

Edea remembers the Bloodrose Legion, and Ringabel suggests a way to find Olivia by having Agnès enter the 47th Annual Sacred Flower Festival. From the townspeople the group learns of a path to the Yulyana Needleworks through Mount Fragmentum. After Agnès goes through the comedic ordeal of the bravo bikini, Tiz suggests the vestal garb for her to wear. As the contest commences, with Ringabel pointing out that some of the contestants are missing, Agnès finds herself being jeered at by the audience before she silences them with a poem meant for Olivia.

Though she did not win, and unaware that the winner of the festival was Victoria knocking out the competition, Agnès finds a letter from Olivia telling her to meet at the Twilight Ruins. After finding Olivia, she reveals she had been on the run since the Bloodrose Legion invaded Florem, and that the fire vestal had been killed. Agnès asks for her help. The group was followed by Victoria who mortally wounds Olivia as Victor arrives. Though the two overpower the group, Victoria falls ill and is forced to fall back.

Agnès blames herself for Olivia's death before Tiz restores her composure by assuring her it was not her fault. Agnès returns to the Temple of Water where the crystal is being possessed by Rusalka, the Purveyor of Doom. Once the monster is dispatched, Agnès cleanses the Water Crystal to the point of exhaustion. She tells the Matriarch that she will go to the Temple of Fire in Eisenberg to cleanse the next crystal. As the group sets sail on the restored sea, Edea unintentionally causes rift between herself and Agnès when she reveals that she is the daughter of leader of the Eternian Forces.

On their way to Eisenberg, the party ends up on a giant Grandship where they meet a man named Zatz Mightee. They learn that Eisenberg's Shieldbearers are in the middle of a civil war against the Swordbearer faction who employ Eternia's Black Blades. Taking Zatz's friend, Datz Strongberry, as a guide, the group decides to meet with the Shieldbearers' commander to find a way to the Temple of Fire.

The group is intercepted by sword master Nobutsuna Kamiizumi, Edea's mentor and commander of the Black Blades. After a discussion over the results of her transgressions dooming the world, Kamiizumi takes his leave upon learning the Swordbearers' base is in danger. He warns Edea that he will show her no mercy the next time they meet. After Kamiizumi meets with his Black Blade followers to discuss their progress on all fronts, Agnès's group meets up with the Shieldbearer Commander Daniel Goodman as he offers to help them reach the Temple of Fire. After spending a night at the commander's home, the group is dumbfounded of how to reach the temple before Tiz convinces Agnès to help the Shieldbearers.

After retrieving a sample of a poison developed by the Black Blades' Salve-Maker Qada from Grapp Keep, the group ventures into the Mythril Mine to rescue the nineteen Canary Boys forced to work there. They learn that a boy named Egil was taken to Starkfort. Infiltrating it, the group finds Egil and learns of a secret passage to the Temple of Fire within the deepest tunnel in the mine. When Egil follows them, Tiz is furious, and ends up arguing with Agnès. Though he is reluctant to endanger Egil due to resemblance to his younger brother Til, Tiz is convinced to let the boy travel with them.

Once the group reaches the temple, they defeat Chaugmar, the Mark of Doom, before Agnès awakens the crystal. After learning of it, Goodman promises Agnès that he will restore the Temple of Fire to its former glory, and that the Canary Boys will be cared for. After taking Egil to Caldisla to ease the mind of innkeeper Karl since the death of his son Owen, the only crystal left for them to cleanse is in Eternia. With Ringabel's book providing a clue, the group returns to the Grandship and finds it sinking.

After finding old documents leading them the engine room, the group is jumped by a Behemoth that they dispatch before inserting Egil's orichalcum into the ship's heart. The group saves Grandship and learns it is an airship that can give them safe passage to Eternia. With news of the disappearance of Grandship, and that it has reached Eternia, the Grand Marshal orders all forces to mount an all-out offense against the wind vestal.

After passing through the Frostpeak Passage, Agnès's group arrives to Eternia where Edea learns that her mother, Mahzer Lee, is at the Central Healing Tower. After visiting her, Edea reveals the white magic cables are powered by the Earth Crystal, yet believes they must awaken it regardless. Upon reaching Eternia Central Command, the group is ambushed by Victoria as she subjects them to her magic before she collapses with Victor carrying her into Central Command for treatment.

Following Victor to find the White Magic Circulation Hub, the group learns that Victoria suffered an incurable disease before she was saved by the Grand Marshal and that Victor has devoted himself to prolong her life. Once Victoria emerges from stasis, she and Victor die attempting to kill the group. The group is knocked out by Archduke Lester DeRosso, the previous leader of the Council, with Alternis placing Edea in her room where she is confronted by her father, Grand Marshal Braev Lee.

Learning that Agnès and the others are in the dungeon, Edea demands to know what her father hopes to gain. He tells her that the Earth Crystal will retain its normalcy even if he must kill her to ensure it. While meeting with Lord DeRosso, who warns the Grand Marshal not to close himself from his daughter, Braev learns that Edea escaped through her room's secret passage and freed her allies with their escape assured by Sage Yulyana, revealed as a founding member of the Council of Six. Prior to his sacrifice, Sage warns Agnès's group that the world is not as black and white as they believe and to think for themselves.

Sending Alternis off once telling him something of vital importance, Braev is confronted by Edea. A fight follows with the Grand Marshal rendered unable to fight further as lord DeRosso arrives with Mahzer. With Mahzer thanking her daughter for freeing Braev from his burden, DeRosso explains that the templar's wife is in no real danger, as he allows the group to reach the Earth Crystal. Finding machinery attached to it, pondering the sudden appearance of the Propagator of Doom Gigas Lich as the Eternian Army was guarding it, Agnès's ritual restores the Earth Crystal. Airy explains the only thing left to do is to find the Holy Pillar so she can have her brooch absorb the pillar's First Light.

As Airy remains in the bridge, the group finds that Alternis has gotten on board with the intent to sink the Grandship to stop them. The fight ends with Alternis defeated and unmasked, the group shocked to see him resemble Ringabel, before the dark knight falls overboard. With the revelation that Alternis possessed an identical Book of D, the group finds itself consumed in the light of Airy's brooch.

When Tiz awakens in the Caldisla Inn, he is confused to hear the Sky Knights are attacking. He imagines it is all a dream until the others arrive with Airy unable to give them an answer when they see Owen alive. With added confusion that their work was undone, the group decides to start a new quest to awaken the crystals. With access to Grandship and the Eschalot, the group reaches each of the temples while dealing with stronger versions of the evil monsters possessing them. They meet with Sage Yulyana to repair the vestal garb, and learn that they originate from another world.

With Agnès choosing Tiz as her most trust-worthy companion, the two venture into the Vestment Cave the next day to meet with Sage who reveals that he and DeRosso were mortal enemies who fought centuries ago before aiding a dying angel resembling Agnès. The Sage explains that the angel warned him and DeRosso of a danger behind the crystals relating to the Harrowing, and that the Great Chasm is an omen tied to it with the events somehow connected to the group's previous journey to the Holy Pillar. Feeling that there is something Sage is not telling them, Tiz and Agnès meet up with the others.

Once they fulfill their objective of awakening the crystals, the group makes its way to the Holy Pillar, and once more finds itself fighting Alternis who reveals his goal is to kill the one who ruins the world: Airy. Though Edea tries to reason with him, Alternis realizes she is not the Edea of his world, and attacks her. He reveals that Braev told him that Airy is nothing but a trickster who desires the crystals' power to destroy the world. After Alternis again falls to his death, a flood of memories overwhelms Ringabel, and the group is consumed in the light of the Holy Pillar.

Finding themselves, once again, in the Caldisla Inn, Tiz finds that he and the others they are in a world where Til survived instead of him. While Agnès suggests resuming the mission, Ringabel brings up what Alternis said of Airy, as he reveals he regained a bit of his memory of seeing the number 6 and Edea killed by a monster.

Meeting with Tiz in private, Ringabel explains that he believes he is an alternate version of Alternis from another world. As they get closer to completing their quest, Ringabel regains the rest of his memories, realizing the pattern on Airy's wings was "6", which changed to "5". With this knowledge, Ringabel confides to Tiz that Airy's wings are a countdown, and that the cryst-fairy may be behind the deaths of Tiz, Agnès, and Edea. He asks Tiz to tell Agnès of what they have learned.

Using a visit to the world's Sage as an excuse, Tiz takes her to the Vestment Cave to discuss Airy with Sage, who reveals that Agnès's pendant once belonged to the angel, and that she was killed by an "Evil One" who used her and her allies. Realizing whom Tiz believes this Evil One to be, Agnès accepts it. The Sage reveals the crystals can regenerate within millennia as long as their core remains intact.

With Ringabel covering up the true nature of Tiz and Agnès meeting, the group reluctantly enacts the Holy Pillar once more with the hope of atoning for their actions. After their journey in the last world, the group is now in yet another parallel world with Airy feigning ignorance as they repeat the process before assuming their places in the Holy Pillar.

After returning to the Grandship and hearing Airy cheering, the group believes they saved the world. The happiness is short-lived when they find the Great Chasm still there as Airy gloats of manipulating them. Assuming her true monstrous caterpillar form, which Ringabel recognizes as the demon that killed the Edea of his world, whose wings were a countdown of her evolution, Piercer of Boundaries Airy reveals she linked ten of thousand worlds for over 1100 millennia for the will of her master: Ouroboros, the God of Destruction. Defeated in her chrysalis-like form, Airy finds herself outmatched as she falls back to the Dark Aurora above the chasm to gain a new form and power.

As Ringabel tends to the Grandship, Tiz comforts Edea and Agnès over the betrayal and tells the latter they have to stop Airy. Turning to Sage for advice, the group learns he called DeRosso. They instruct them to hold hands so the two can show them the message of the Angel, revealed to be the Agnès of another world, to know of their mission to defeat Ouroboros and call upon others when the time has come.

As DeRosso takes his leave to enact his role in the defeat of Ouroboros, the group departs to the Great Chasm where they find a portal to the Dark Aurora and confront Airy as she has assumed her perfected form. Airy finds herself being devoured by Ouroboros before he emerges in a shifting form to talk with the heroes. Revealing his goal to bring ruin to the Celestial Realm where the gods live, Ouroboros explains that he sees all life as food while noticing a Celestial within Tiz.

Assuming his true form as he drags them into the Infernal Realm, Ouroboros regenerates any injury inflicted on him before DeRosso arrives. Revealing his mission to merge into the monster's core to halt the regeneration process, DeRosso sacrifices himself to give the group a fighting chance. Revealing he can also regenerate himself by simply destroying the worlds that Airy linked, Ouroboros places the group in a difficult position with Agnès accepting defeat.

The Angel intervenes as she tells Agnès and Tiz to contact their alternate world counterparts who proceed to break the link. Regaining their will to fight, the group destroys Ouroboros before losing consciousness. The Angel thanks them before they are teleported back to the Grandship by Sage, who confirms DeRosso died with Ouroboros as they had planned. Explaining that the Great Chasm is a portal to other worlds, Sage takes his leave as the group returns to their world before the portal closes.

Ringabel takes residence in the Grandship while Agnès begins a new journey to oversee the crystals and Edea assumes her place as a new member of the Council of Six. Six months after moving into the Caldisla Inn, revealed to have been on a tentative life, Tiz walks over to the cemetery before he releases the Celestial that had been prolonging his life until now.

The game's music is composed by Revo from the Japanese musical group Sound Horizon. Members of the said group include RIKKI, known for her work "Suteki da ne" for Final Fantasy X, and Joelle, known for "Plains of Eternity" from Final Fantasy XIII-2. A single was released on August 22nd, 2012 in Japan and includes a redeemable code for a special in-game equipment. The 2-disc soundtrack includes a fold-out stand for the four protagonists Tiz, Agnès, Edea, and Ringabel.

The Melodist's Shirt outfit.

Ordering the game's original soundtrack rewards a knight costume for Agnès and the ability to equip the character's respective default outfit regardless of job. However, the game must first be registered to Japanese Square Enix Member's site. Purchasing the supplementary album Luxendarc's Big Diary, with Revo's arranged versions of music from the game, rewards the player with the "Melodist's Shirt" outfit.

Bravely Default entered development as a Nintendo 3DS sequel to Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, but Square Enix decided to repurpose the game as a new yet related IP with an original title so as not to confuse modern-day Final Fantasy fans, as the game's direction is different from the modern games of the series, and closer in style to the older installments. The development team settled on the name Bravely Default: Flying Fairy so that the subtitle would abbreviate to "FF", as a reminder of the game's origins.[4]

According to the producer Tomoyo Asano, the "Bravely Default" means "Have courage and renounce the promises and responsibilities that are expected of you. In other words, don't just blindly do what you're told, act according to your will." This is the core theme behind the game's scenario, mostly seen in Sage Yulyana's words of encouragement for the party to "have the courage to think and act" and to "have the courage to disobey." One of requests the Asano made of Hayashi is that he wanted emphasis placed on the characters and scenario that would surprise players. Asano explained further that he wanted both good and bad guys to have appeal and likeability.[5]

Kensuke Nakahara, director and head of development at Silicon Studio, has said that the main challenge was to make Bravely Default: Flying Fairy a "traditional" RPG, and not an old-fashioned or overtly nostalgia-inducing one. He noted that there are many Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy fans on the development team, and many ideas they threw around were the sort that had been seen in previous titles, and would please many fans, but the developers wanted to avoid including things just to give players twinges of nostalgia.[6]

The main novelty in the battle system is the option to default on a turn to store up battle points for later use, or select "brave" to execute multiple actions in a single turn. It had always annoyed director Nakahara whenever bosses in Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy got to do two different attacks in the same turn, and the team discussed something in the battles that would be simple yet provide a chance for deeper strategy, such as the "charge" command in the Dragon Quest series.[6]

When the project first got started it was a standard RPG akin to Final Fantasy III or Final Fantasy V, but the concern was it wouldn't be a good decision for a new IP like Bravely Default. With the battle points system, Nakahara felt like it had the chance to turn the whole game around.[6]

The story was designed to be comedic up to the point the player starts liking the characters, and develop the drama, director Tomoyo Asano has explained. He used the methodology of American TV dramas, like the older Beverly Hills 90210 and Glee, as references.[7] Asano has described Bravely Default as a traditional JRPG with American content thrown in.[7]

The collector's edition was exclusively acquired through the Square Enix eShop. It includes a copy of the game, the first print run of the game's original soundtrack, an art album, an original protect case for the 3DS, and a life-size AR poster.[10]. It was sold for ¥12,800. The standard edition of the game was available for ¥6,090.

The game was re-released in Japan; this version, called Bravely Default: For the Sequel, contains several modifications. Save data from the original version is carried over. It was released on December 5, 2013[2] as a stand alone release and as a downloadable content upgrade.[11]

The following are the modifications made from the original game:

Auto-battle system

Battle speed-up

Bravely Second mechanic

Ability to change encounter rate

Upgraded town graphics

Improved character interface that now shows the stats on the bottom screen

On April 17th, 2013, six months after the game's original release, Nintendo announced it would be localized and that the title would be released in 2013 for Europe and 2014 for North America. On July 31st, 2013, however, the release for the European region was pushed to 2014.[12] only to be moved again to December 2013. On August 29th, 2013, it was revealed the game would be known as Bravely Default: Where the Fairy Flies[13] when it releases in the West, and will be based on the For the Sequel version of the game that would be be released in Japan in December 5, 2013.[14] The game, however, was released as Bravely Default in Europe and North America, and the new subtitle was kept in the second title screen before loading the saved game.

The western release has been modified with characters' outfits made less revealing and some characters have been aged a couple years compared to the Japanese game.

On February 27th, 2012, it was confirmed the game would have several demos, each concentrating on one of the game's aspects, and two days later, on the February 29th, 2012, the first demo, titled "Demo + AR Vol.1 - Crystal Maiden Volume", was released on February 29th, 2012.[15]

A second demo, titled "Demo Vol.2: Heroes of Despair Volume", was published on March 29th, 2012.[16] It allows to control Tiz, as well as walk around a town, visit a shop, and interact with its citizens.

A battle demo was released on June 27th, 2012, which allows for a sampling of the game's battle system, with players selecting two jobs from a total of four available, and makes use of the "Brave & Default" system. It contains an AR movie focusing on Edea Lee.[17]

A fourth demo was released on August 1st, 2012. It gives control to the first three playable characters as they fight through a dungeon and battle a golem boss. This demo features full control of the game's battle system and comes with an AR movie focusing on Ringabel.

The final, fifth demo, was released on September 12th, 2012, and includes all elements from the four previous demos, and adds Friend Summons, Abilink, and the Norende Village recovery system. Players can carry up to 20 friends into the Norende in the full game. With the release of the fifth demo, the previous four were removed.[18]

An English demo was released on the 3DS eShop on November 15th 2013. It doesn't include any story relevant to the full game, and serves to show players the mechanics and feel of the game.[19] The demo was met with favorable reviews from the general public, but was considered lacking due to having no story elements. The demo includes the full brave/default battle system as well as the partial world map, three dungeons and the town of Ancheim. The demo allows the player to build a part of Norende Village, which transfers over to the full game when played for the first time. The demo rewards players with items when defeated certain dungeons and performing actions in the demo which "help players early on".

For the overseas release, Bravely Default currently holds an aggregate 85 rating on Metacritic, out of 65 reviews.[20] General points of praise include the innovations to the combat engine, the beautiful maps, the soundtrack, and the English voiceovers and localization in general. It received an 8.6/10 from IGN[21] citing "Bravely Default embraces both genre traditions and new ideas, and the result is one of the best JRPGs of recent years." Many websites and opinions state that that game is what fans had been requested from Square Enix for a while, with Metro saying "this becomes the best Final Fantasy game that never was."[22] The primary point of criticism, both among professional reviewers and the wider fanbase, was the structure of the last few chapters; many felt the game became too repetitive.

Bravely Default was made only with the Japanese audience in mind, and the substantially positive reaction to it overseas surprised and warmed its developers, leading to Square Enix to reconsider their global strategy for JRPGs.[23]. In reaction to the review scores the game first saw in Europe, the Bravely Default Twitter account tweeted: "Bravely Default is a game that was designed only taking RPG fans in Japan into consideration. We thought overseas expansion was impossible. Seeing this much anticipation moves me deeply."[24]

As of July, 2014, the game had sold over 1 million copies, most outside Japan.[25]

While it was hinted in a conversation between Yasumi Matsuno and Akihiko Yoshida,[27] the director Tomoya Asano, in a September 2013 interview with Famitsu, confirmed that a sequel was in development, and that one of the implementations present would be a battle system less like the traditional turn-based model.[28]

On December 4, 2013, the sequel to Bravely Default, titled Bravely Second: End Layer, was revealed in Jump magazine. Like its predecessor, the game is for the Nintendo 3DS, takes place in the same world, and involves a new character named Magnolia Arch.[29]